


The Little Blessings

by 46hasu



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Sign Language, with a bit of magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:15:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26279305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/46hasu/pseuds/46hasu
Summary: Life has moved on for Hyrule. There were no more epic feats from Heroes, the wise princesses have left the throne, and the old hatred has calmed at long last.But Zelda still carried the blood of the Goddess.
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 133





	The Little Blessings

**Author's Note:**

> Can you believe I had this as a WIP since April? 
> 
> While I wrote this with Breath of the Wild Zelink in mind, anyone of the game series works out, though there are a lot of BOTW references.

Zelda tried to keep her hand steady as she slowly put pressure on the pipet. Steady blue drops fell into the beaker filled with her newest concoction. There was a soft fizzling sound from the beaker, and Zelda held her breath. The fizzling slowly died away as the concoction took on a new violet shade. She gently put the pipet down on the table and allowed herself to celebrate. It had taken weeks to perfect this elixir and she had finally made a breakthrough. 

A knock on her apartment door broke her celebration. She quickly left the room, making sure she locked it and rushed to the front door. 

A pair of excited blue eyes and a wide grin greeted her. 

“Link!” she opened her arms for a hug. 

“Zelda!” Link signed excitedly before going forward to accept her hug. “Were you busy?”

Zelda looked back to her apartment to find a dirty laundry cluster and neglected books lying on the floor. “Ah, no,” she looked down to the floor, a little embarrassed. “I just lost track of time and forgot to clean up.” 

Link gave her a dubious look before stepping out to the hallway. “Are you ready to go?” he signed. 

“Give me a moment. I just need to grab something.”

Link gave her a patient nod as she ran back to her room. She picked up the small charm woven with a raven feather. 

“For luck,” she whispered into the charm. “And for safety.”

The charm showed no sign at her words, but she nodded in satisfaction and pocketed it anyway. She quickly ran her fingers through her hair and stepped out to join Link. “Sorry to keep you waiting.” 

Link gave her a simple wave before reaching for her hand. She grabbed his hand and pulled him close, slipping the charm into his green jacket pocket. Satisfied that he won’t notice it, she pulled away and let go of his hand. 

His face turned the lovely shade of red at her actions. “I thought you were going to kiss me,” Link signed. 

“Next time, I’ll be sure to kiss you,” she laughed, turning his face redder. “Or do you want one now?”

Link huffed in embarrassment at her question, covering his face with one hand. “Not here,” he shook his head. 

Zelda only laughed again before leading him to the elevator. “When the setting is more romantic.”

* * *

It has been centuries since the Hyrule royal family abdicated their throne and power to a more democratic way to run the country. The blood of the goddess was nothing more than a bedtime story for everyone now. The regaling tales of a Hero were now legends of the old. The old hatred and power were calmed and nearly forgotten now since there was little evidence of its existence. This is the way that Hyrule works for everyone now. 

Well, for everyone but Zelda. 

When Zelda turned seven, she cut her hand on a ceramic pot that once kept a seed for a flower. Normal children would have cried from the bloody sight, and Zelda nearly did. Until she saw the green steam escape from the bloody seed and bloom a bright pink flower. It was a fascinating sight. 

Her father walked in on her and nearly had a heart attack. Her mother had laughed and pulled Zelda aside. 

“We are the descendants of Hyrule’s old queens,” her mother had explained as she bandaged Zelda’s hand. “They all had the blood of Goddess running in their veins; it was their show of the right to the throne.” 

“I am a princess?” she asked, thinking of the jeweled tiaras and silk gowns. 

“Not anymore, sunshine,” her mother laughed. “There is no more throne for us to claim. Hyrule does not need divine powers anymore, but we will always be here for the country.” 

Her mother then swore Zelda to keep her ancestry and her blessings a secret. She also trained her how to control her powers and taught her how not to abuse it. When Zelda turned ten, her mother passed away in her sleep with a smile on her face. She looked very out of place on the hospital bed. 

Her father raised her by himself after that. With her mother gone, Zelda had noticed something in her father’s eyes that wasn’t there before. Fear. 

He feared her powers. He thought it was unnatural and bizarre. 

But he still loved her. 

He watched her as she gave her blessings to everyday objects with a mix of fear and pride. He never once deterred her from using her divine powers. But he still carried his mother’s will of keeping her powers secret until his final breath. 

She thought her powers were limitless and potent magic that can do anything. The idea left her pretty quickly after the second funeral of a parent. It was sobering, to say the least, watching both her parents die on a hospital bed.

She still respected their wishes to keep her ancestry a secret to everyone. But that didn’t stop her from testing its limits in the most subtle way possible. 

She threw herself into various studies to help her understand her powers more: history, chemistry, mathematics, religious studies, and so many other areas. The classes themselves didn’t help her understand her power better, but it gave her new options to experiment and test. 

When she graduated from university, she was determined to learn more. She traveled all over the country, taking a few odd jobs whenever she ran out of money. 

Her days of traveling came to an end as she slowly started to grow weary. So she started a more stable lifestyle with a small apartment in a humble town. Then she met Link. 

She had bumped into him by chance when she was grocery shopping. When she was putting green onions in the little plastic bag, she felt eyes on her. She turned around, expecting an old classmate or a long-forgotten acquaintance. But her eyes met a boy with a green knitted beanie and a blue t-shirt staring down on her bagged onions. 

At first, she assumed the guy was mad at her for blocking the way to the onions and moved aside. His stare didn’t let up. 

“Can I help you?” she asked him, edging further away from him a little. 

His eyes snapped up to her as if in a daze, and promptly looked away. He made a small apologetic gesture and pointed to her bag. She stared at him blankly as he gestured some more. It took her an embarrassingly long while to notice he was signing to her. 

“Sorry,” she said. “I don’t know sign language.” 

He reached for his messenger bag without skipping a beat and took out a worn notebook with a leather cover. She watched him scribble something with his pen before he held it up to her. 

“Don’t buy that,” he had written, “it’s not fresh. Wouldn’t last the week.” 

She looked down at the bag. It did have an unpleasant texture when she touched it; there were also parts where she noticed it falling apart. 

“Thanks for telling me,” she nodded to him as she dumped out the bag’s contents. “I am not the best when it comes to shopping for groceries.” 

He only smiled at her before dragging his shopping cart away. She didn’t expect to see him again. But he seemed to be everywhere she went. It was a small town, after all.

The moments of coincidence slowly created months of friendship. 

“Link,” she said during their weekly walk in the park one day, “I have a surprise for you.”

“Another key chain?” Link wrote in the notebook with a smile. “They’re gorgeous, but I don’t need more.” 

Soon after they became friends, she didn’t think twice when it came to giving him small blessed charms to protect him. At first, they were little gifts like key chains and phone straps. Then it became presents, like knitting needles and yarns when he told her about his hobby. Soon after, he stopped accepting her gifts, embarrassed that he hardly had anything gifts to return. 

But her enchantments only lasted a few weeks at best despite her efforts. So she took to sneaking small insignificant charms into his pockets. 

She laughed, trying to hide her nervousness. “Ah, no. It’s something a little different. But it’s not a big deal or anything. I just thought you would like it, but no worries if you don’t. In fact, you can totally turn it down if you don’t feel comfortable with it. Again no worries.” 

Link tapped his notebook with a pen. “You’re rambling,” he pointed to the old words he wrote with a smile. 

“Sorry.” 

“It’s fine,” he smiled at her. “What’d you got for me?” 

She nervously held up her hands and twisted her fingers in slow, precise motion. It took her hours to perfect it. “Will you,” she slowly signed, watching her fingers shake, “go on a date with me?”

Link stared at her with wide eyes, dropping his pen and clamping his notebook between his body and arm. “You learned?” he signed slowly so she would understand. 

She nodded. “For you.” 

Those weren’t the only words she learned. She knew most of the basics of sign language by now. 

His face split into a wide grin, eyes sparkling like the stars. He nodded excitedly, his hands flapping up and down excitedly, before going in to hug Zelda. 

“I guess you like it?” she asked, unable to sign anymore with Link holding her so tight. 

He pulled away, nodding again. “I love it,” he signed. 

Three months have passed since then, and her habit of slipping charms and blessings into his pocket only increased. 

She looked down to the jacket pocket she tucked the charm in, hoping there wasn’t a tear in it. That would be awkward. 

A calloused thumb ran over her hand, and she looked up to find Link staring at her inquisitively. She only shook her head and pointed to the movie poster in the theater. “What movie do you want to watch?”

Link looked up to the posters. He pointed at the colorful poster with cartoon characters. “I heard good things about that one.”

“I was thinking more of a horror movie,” Zelda started only to see Link’s expression. “But if you want to watch that one, I’m fine with it.” 

The bright smile on his face removed whatever doubts she had about the movie. 

They paid for their ticket and entered the theater with snacks in hand. She sank into the velvet seat and sighed as the commercials played. 

She wasn’t sure when she fell asleep. A gentle nudge roused her from her slumber, and she opened her eyes to a brightly lit theater with the majority of the seats now empty. Link looked down at her with an amused smile as she leaned on his shoulder. 

“Have a good nap?” he signed, teasing. “You missed the whole movie.” 

She pulled away from him. “Well, that’s a rupee well spent. Please tell me you left some of the popcorn for me.” 

Her hand came upon an empty bag. “You glutton,” she shook her head. “But then again, I wasn’t sure what I was expecting.” 

“I’ll buy you lunch,” he signed to her with an embarrassed smile. “I know a good place that has the best fruitcake. Their pumpkin soup is also good.” 

“You just ate and are already thinking of the next meal,” she teased him. “I can almost admire that.” 

* * *

“You weren’t kidding,” Zelda picked the last of her fruitcake. “It really is good.” 

“Told you,” Link signed over his empty cup. 

“Not as good as yours, though,” she lowered her voice so only Link can hear. “The way you make it is perfect.” And she meant it. 

A flush came to Link at Zelda’s compliment. She said it to tease him a little, but she truly meant her praise. She could still remember the first time she tasted his fruitcake and how the flavors practically melted on her tongue. It was probably the moment that spurred her infatuation to him. She wondered what made him like her. 

They thanked the waiter before leaving the restaurant. By then, the sky was starting to take a darker color from the twilight. 

“Walk along the bridge?” Link signed to her though the smile on his lips showed he already knew the answer. He held up his hand to her. 

She accepted his hand. “Of course.” 

The Bridge of Hylia was an old stone bridge spanning back for thousands of years, but now it was just a small tourist spot that no one hardly paid mind. But for Zelda, it was a lovely place to walk along. It could be because of her secret ancestry, or it could be how Lake Hylia reflected the sky so prettily. There was another thing that she loved about it, though. 

By the time they arrived at the bridge, the first few stars were already shining on them. The moment her shoes met the old stone way, the air started to fill with electricity. An updraft blew her hair away from her face as she leaned against the bridge’s safety railings. Link stood beside her, his hand still clasping hers. 

Her heart grew louder in excitement as she looked down at the water. A luminous horn stuck out of the water first with grace. It’s head and long body slowly followed it. Zelda watched the ancient dragon fly out of the water to the hills. 

Everyone else on the bridge showed no reaction to the spectacular sight. No one could see it, after all. The dragon Farosh was nothing more than a myth of the old days. 

Zelda snuck a glance at Link and found him gazing up at the sky with a contemplative expression. 

_Can you see it?_ The question came to her and died in her throat. 

He probably can’t. 

She pulled her hand away. Link’s eyes immediately fell on her, concern starting to show at her silence. 

“It’s beautiful, yes?” she signed, waving a hand in the dragon’s direction. 

But she could have been gesturing at anything: the moon, the stars, or the lake. 

Link looked back to the sky and nodded. Maybe he couldn’t see it. Perhaps he could, but that was probably wishful thinking on her part. 

A shiver running up her back interrupted her thoughts. She pulled her hands up and exhaled softly into them. Warmth slowly seeped into her fingers and spread through her body. It was a little trick that her mother taught her whenever she grew cold. 

Warmth enveloped her shoulders sooner than she expected the magic to kick in. The extra weight drew her eyes back to Link, hanging his jacket over her. 

“You don’t have to,” she said as she attempted to shrug the jacket off. 

Link, however, pulled up more securely around her. “You look cold.” His eyes moved to the open convenience store. “I’ll be right back.” 

Before she could protest, he was already running off. She silently huffed to herself as she watched him lightly jog to the destination. It was still baffling to think that she was lucky enough to have him as her partner. 

As Link walked into the store with a bell’s soft ringing, she returned her eyes to the night sky. The dragon was barely a squiggle on the horizon now. As pretty as the sky was, there were hardly any stars from the light pollution. An odd pang of sadness hit her at the thought. So many constellations and stars obscured from her view. What stories and secrets did the stars have that were lost?

Maybe she should go camping in the wilds again. There were plenty of visible stars at the place she stayed for a while. And perhaps, Link would love to come along. 

A ring of bell tore her eyes from the sky, and she looked back to the store Link entered. He smiled wide as they made eye contact and held up the paper cups in his hand victoriously. She felt a smile on her lips as well as Link started to practically skipped towards her. 

The lighthearted mood immediately fell as a bright glint of a car headlight shone on Link. 

“Link!” a scream escaped her as the car didn’t slow down. 

There was a screech of tires and shouts from passersby as her feet were glued to the ground. Her mind reeled, trying to piece together what she is witnessing. The sleek car slowed to a short stop before quickly picking up its speed again. 

A disgusted noise escaped her as she watched the car continue down the road. How dare they? She ought to chase that car down and give the driver a piece of her mind. 

A dismayed shout broke her thoughts as she turned to where she last saw Link. A pit opened in her stomach as she saw him lying on the ground. The sight of him immediately brought her back to reality as her legs finally moved to him. 

“Link!” she screamed again as her heart thundered. The thought of the safety charm offered her a small hope, but that was quickly dashed when she noticed the familiar weight of Link’s jacket on her shoulders. 

She dropped down beside Link, scanning for any blood or injuries while trying to recall any healing spells. Link winced and tried slowly to sit up. 

“Don’t move too quickly.” She threw her arm out as an attempt to help him. “Does anything hurt? Are you all alright? Look at me.” 

He started to wave her off with one hand while signing “fine” with the other. She quickly scanned over him again, to see if he was lying. Relief came to her when she found none. 

“Are you sure everything is fine?” she asked out loud and signed at the same time. 

Link frowned. “The hot chocolate.” 

Zelda looked down at the hot beverage that Link dropped. Of course, Link would be more shocked about wasted food than nearly dying. 

“You got lucky,” Zelda pocketed her hands to hide the shaking. “That hooligan of a driver came out of nowhere.”

Link smiled a bashful smile and scratched the back of his head. “Not just lucky.” 

Before Zelda could ask what he meant, he reached for his jeans pocket and pulled out the charm she tucked into his jacket. She gaped at the charm, before patting the jacket pocket to make sure it was the charm she snuck in earlier today. 

The empty pocket confirmed her thoughts, and Link continued to smile bashfully at her. 

Heat climbed to Zelda’s face. “You knew?”

“Kind of hard not to notice,” he signed. 

Oh, if she wasn’t blushing then. “Do you find it weird?”

“I do,” he smiled at her. “Just a little.” 

Zelda bit her lips. “I don’t mean to weird you out.” 

“I’m not,” Link signed. “You do know I always keep the ones you give me, right?”

“I know, it’s just --” 

“It’s fine,” Link interrupted her with a wave of his hand. “If it makes you feel better to carry them around, then I will. And I won’t ask questions if you don’t want to answer them.” 

She carefully looked at him, trying to see if he’s lying or just trying to be polite. But there was still that polite eagerness in his eyes that showed his honesty. Her heart thrummed again. She really was lucky. 

* * *

“I can go rest of the way here,” Zelda said at the end of the block. “It’s getting late; you don’t have to walk me back.” 

Link looked like he wanted to argue. But they already had that debate before, and Zelda always won in the end. 

“We wouldn’t have to say goodbye if we lived together,” Link signed with a teasing smile.

Zelda laughed, trying to mask her nervousness about the concoctions and research notes she safely locked away. If they did decide to live together, then it would be harder to hide them. She will have to tell him everything someday. 

“Goodnight, Link.” She tilted her head down to him. Link gently pulled her closer before planting a soft kiss on her lips. She could still taste the hot chocolate that she bought for him. 

“Goodnight, Zelda,” he signed before going his way. 

She remained at the end of the block, watching him go. Every few steps or so, Link turned back to make eye contact with her. With every look, he stopped to wave goodbye with a wide grin. 

Zelda’s apartment was quiet, with exception to the few Koroks giggling behind her furniture and plants. She dropped down to her bed, thinking about today’s date. True to his word, Link didn’t ask her any questions about her insistence on giving him charms. 

Her fingers subconsciously traced her lips. He always kissed her before they parted as shy as he is with public affection. She tried to savor each of those little moments. 

Her phone chimed softly beside her. 

**Link:** Just got home :D

 **Link:** You?

She smiled softly before writing her reply. 

**Zelda:** Going to bed now

 **Zelda:** Goodnight 

**Link:** Goodnight!!

 **Link:** ( ˘ ³˘)♥

She traced over the emoticon with her finger. She loved him. She loved him so much. One day, she will tell him everything. The soft clicks of her typing echoed through the room. 

**Zelda:** I love you.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked this work!
> 
> Comments and feedback are welcome!


End file.
